Deep Dasgupta agreed that chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav is struggling and is short of confidence but added that he can turn it around if the team management gives him confidence and backs him in these hard times.
Kuldeep Yadav is down on confidence and is struggling as in his last 5 ODIs, he has conceded more than 60 runs on four occasions in his spells and taken just six wickets. He was preferred over spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar in the first ODI against England but produced regrettable figures of 0/68 in nine overs while other bowlers excelled.
Deep Dasgupta Would Like To See Kuldeep Yadav Who Hasn’t Played Much International Cricket In The Last 2 Years Get Another Game
Despite his poor form and inconsistent performances, former India wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta wants Virat Kohli to back Kuldeep Yadav and give him at least another opportunity in the 2nd ODI. Deep Dasgupta agreed that chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav is struggling and is short of confidence but added that he can turn it around if the team management backs him by giving him the necessary confidence in these hard times.
“I would like to see Kuldeep for, at least, another game because, as it is, he has been struggling…he is struggling with confidence. We can see, he hasn’t played much international cricket in the last couple of years. We can see that he is trying hard so all I will say is, maybe, they should back him a bit. I know, he went for a few [runs] as well in the last game,” Deep Dasgupta told Sports Today.
Kuldeep Yadav erred on the shorter side and was guilty of giving a lot of time to the England batsmen to rock back and either cut or pull him behind the square, which made Virat Kohli’s job of placing fielders a hard one. The chinaman spinner has only played 4 matches across formats for India over the last 13 months. He wasn’t even a regular in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 campaign.
Deep Dasgupta: Kuldeep Yadav Needs Backing And Should Bowl Against The Right Batsmen
Deep Dasgupta said Virat Kohli needs to bowl him against the right batsmen.
“But if you have to give somebody the confidence then the only way that can happen is to make him play, make him bowl. Obviously, get him to bowl the overs against the right batsmen. But if we want Kuldeep back in action and deliver close to his 100 percent of what we’ve seen or better than that, he needs backing and game time,” Deep Dasgupta added.
Kuldeep Yadav recently completed 100 ODI wickets and is the 3rd fastest Indian to reach this landmark. 58.10 % of his wickets have come when he has picked more than 3 wickets in an innings (61/105). No bowler has taken more 3-plus wickets in ODIs than Kuldeep Yadav since the left-arm wrist spinner’s debut for India. He has picked 105 scalps in 62 ODIs.
Kuldeep Yadav has direct competition from Yuzvendra Chahal for the frontline spinner’s spot in the team. Yuzvendra Chahal didn’t have an impressive T20I series and was dropped from the team in the 4th and 5th T20I. He didn’t get the nod in the first ODI but might return in the second if the team management decides to drop Kuldeep Yadav.